I used to wonder how could one book or one conversation with an "apostate" dismantle years of devoted service for a Jehovah's Witness? Is Satan really that powerful? Hundreds/thousands of hours dedicated towards the field ministry, studying Watchtower publications, conventions, and relationships can be immediately destroyed by lies? I remember praying these questions away.
Posts by Emery
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38"Strong hope enables us to resist apostates and their gangrenous 'empty speeches.'"
by cedars inthose obviously aren't my words, they are from the latest study edition of the watchtower (april 15th, 2013) page 11.. .
it's nice to know that, not only are we "mentally diseased" - we are also now "gangrenous.
" since the society seems to enjoy using medical terms to insult us, are there any bets what the next published insult will be?
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23
Jw;s like family
by d ini was wondering do you ever miss certain jw's?
i mean not all but just some, becuase even though we may rant and rave against jw's at times.
we have to remeber that for those that were born in the jw's theywere like family.which is why it is so hard at for me to let go completely.. although i have been out for about 5 yrs and it feels good.
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Emery
Certainly, I cherish and love many who are still in the Watchtower and it is especially difficult if you are/were popular in the congregation.
The conditional love reveals itself when you choose to no longer go to the meetings or if you become irregular. I began realizing who my real friends were when I began fading, some who I considered as close as family hardly did anything to help or gain back their "spiritually weak" brother, instead they resorted to negative gossip and avoidance.
This reminds me of something James Penton said during an interview (paraphrasing)
"There were so many friends in the organization that I loved so much, friends who I would have given my life for, but as soon as I left, they turned on me like vipers."
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My Story
by nolongerconfused inwell...where do i start.... i was raised in the truth...always knowing that there was nothing better out there besides the wt...however, recently i have a made a determination to not go "anywhere"...in all of my almost 35 years of being part of this "organization" i can honestly say i never read the bible as i do today...my "personal" study of the bible has more meaning today than it ever did...after reading the bible i have found many inconsistencies in the wt organization...i hold no grudges or hard feelings towards anyone in the organization, including the so called governing body...i just believe that human imperfection has taken it's toll on this organization...however, that is no excuse to act as a false prophet or assume things that only belong jehovah and his son...the bible is the truth, and jesus said such truth will set us free...i served as a pioneer all of my youth, and served as a ms...as of today i don't partake in that kind of manmade "service"... i'm truly against monthly time reports, special titles of service, asking for donations, judicial committees, among other things...some people may ask why?...well, none of these things are biblical!...some have told me, well the gb is now the faithful and discreet slave...and i say, as determined by who?...nowhere in my personal reading of the bible does it say that there was or there would ever be a gb...this group of men was self appointed...anything self appointed or self made up is definitely not discreet or faithful...jesus never ever appointed such a group.... a family member of mine passed away 2 years ago...he was never a "witness"...but i did preach to him once in a while so he "knew" about god...he just never wanted to be part of this organization...yet, when he passed away i was told repeatedly by the brothers and resurrection publications that i will see him in paradise... i thought to myself, but jehovah is the only one that determines or says who will resurrect (weather heavenly or earth)...i always thought...we as men are nobody to classify or determine that being part of a certain "organization" is the only way to salvation...jesus never said such thing...yet some may say that jehovah has always used an organization giving an moses and the israelite "organization" as an example...but then i say, well jesus is the end of the old covenant...we don't need an organization to be our mediator between us and the true god...jesus is the only mediator.... i could just say so many other things, but i felt like sharing this with all of you...as i cannot share this with any family members or brothers since i would be considered an apostate...i truly believe god is the only judge and i will hold myself accountable to him and no one else.... thanks for reading.... .
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Emery
Welcome! What they dont understand is that Christianity was very diverse in the 1st century and there was no authoritative structure running the show.
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46
The BEST way to "wake up" a JW
by Phizzy inwe have debated this over many years and in many threads, as all of us have family and/or former friends still in.
it seems that there is no "best" way to wake up a jw, it is as elusive as the "true" religion it seems.. but a comment made by poster "emery" on another thread stood out to me, he/she said :.
"what i have gathered is that most witnesses seem to be in it for emotional reasons.
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Emery
Im glad we are back to this topic :)
Yes I believe there are many other reasons obviously for JWs to wake up, but the most common reason I feel is the emotional aspect.
Ding pointed out something that has helped me lead family out, "listening".
If you happen to be an active witness or fader, look for those in the congregation who are depressed or visibly unhappy. They need to vent and when you get them talking you will see how easy it is to counter that emotional tie with unconditional love.
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What happens if you do something bad when in the paradise
by God_Delusion inhi guys,.
when i was younger and my mother was studying with me, she told me the following:.
"jaymes, after armageddon, satan and his demons will be locked away and we'll have 1,000 years to make the earth a paradise.
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Emery
a large random Orca will eat you.
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Why are Witnesses so effective?
by Apognophos ini'm sure some of you chuckled when you read the topic, or wondered if this was sarcasm, but i'm being serious.
yes, witnesses number less than one in a thousand, but that's still millions of people.
people like you and me!
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Emery
I'll give it a shot.
- They normally recruit and covert the biblically ignorant. Bible believing persons who do not know the context of the scriptures being read to them, or the variety of alternative interpretations you can receive from reading ambigious scriptures. They sell certainty with a black and white mentality.
- The instant friends you make and networking when you join. They love bomb you and turn you into a local celebrity.
- Many people feel like they need to be a part of something, you see it all over the world; fraternities, sororities, church, etc.
What I have gathered is that most witnesses seem to be in it for emotional reasons. When presented logical irrefutible evidence of the Watchtower's dishonesty and hypocrisy, no matter how persuasive the argument, it does nothing. Thats why it takes an emotional ass kicking to start waking up.
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Is the Trinitarian view point correct based on this passage-Titus 2:13?
by I_love_Jeff intitus 2:13- "while we wait for the blessed hope-the appearing of the glory of our great god and savior, jesus christ, " .
the part in question lies at the end of the passage "...of our great god and savior, jesus christ,".
*granville sharp's rule-when you have two nouns, which are not proper names (such as cephas, or paul, or timothy), which are describing a person, and the two nouns are connected by the word "and," and the first noun has the article ("the") while the second does not, *both nouns are referring to the same person.. this, as far as i know, has been an ongoing argument among trinitarians and non trinitarians for a very long time.
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Emery
I agree with PSacramento.
I've learned an easy way towards explaining the trinity to a JW using the illustration of the Watchtower trinity.
Faithful and discreet slave + Jesus = Jehovah, minus the FDS and add the Holy Spirit.
Also, it is amazing the amount of Old Testament scriptures which only apply to YWHW being used and applied to Jesus in the New Testament.
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The NEXT New Light
by problemaddict inso i am pretty sure some long timers here, as well as franz, essentially predicted the next "new light" by simply picking out the inconsistant non-sustainable beliefs that had expiration dates as to freshness.. if i am not mistaken, franz said this was the generation teaching at the time he wrote his book.. so......what do you guys think is next?
seriously..
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Emery
1914 will be relegated to a fullfillment of a minor prophecy and Jesus being King will be future.
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New GB Light - Increased JWN Membership?
by jw07 ini'm relatively new here.
this is a question to admin / longer members.. have you noticed a greater influx of membership here since the 'new lighttm' regarding the 'governing body' was revealed?.
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Emery
Welcome goodsoul, it truly can be a daunting task to imagine life without the Watchtower or its fellowship but things will get better, life becomes richer. Hang in there and know that we are all here for one another :)
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45
New F&DS Light question
by ItsMyLife ini have a question about the implications of the new light regarding the f&ds.
sorry if it sounds complicated, i'm not good at explaining things.. .
if the f&ds is now just the few brothers who get together to dispense the food at the proper time, and the f&ds will be appointed over all of christ's belongings, then does that mean they will be appointed above the rest of the 144,000 when they go to heaven?
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Emery
Haha, yeah I purposely made it sound like im describing a benefits policy to an anointed JW.